1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fluid dispensing apparatus. More particularly, the invention concerns an improved post-mix type food product dispenser having a clear, transparent visual display panel that enables real-time viewing of the mixing process.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Many consumer food products are delivered to customers upon demand through the use of dispensers designed to provide the particular product of interest. Generally, these dispensers provide a means for preparing and storing the food product of interest and often display the finished product in a holding tank before being delivered to the customer through a simple dispensing mechanism.
Typically, the product to be delivered is a flavored beverage, sometimes partially frozen, and it is delivered through a “pre-mix” or “post-mix” dispenser. Pre-mix dispensers mix a syrup concentrate and a diluting solution, typically water, to create the finished product that is stored in a holding tank until it is dispensed through a spigot or faucet mechanism. Post-mix dispensers do not hold prepared product ready for delivery; instead, they provide a means for immediately combining the syrup concentrate and diluting solution on demand to deliver the product through the associated dispensing mechanism.
Pre-mix dispensers often provide a holding tank, typically opaque or transparent, that provides a visually appealing display of the product to be dispensed, imparting a feeling of freshness to the beverage to stimulate impulse purchases. Post-mix dispensers typically lack a means of displaying the product before consumption and, therefore, lose the powerful effect garnered from a visually appealing presentation of the consumable product.
While the holding tank offers powerful marketing advantages, these types of pre-mix dispensers often suffer from limited holding tank volumes and require frequent cleaning to remove bacterial induced organic growth. To circumvent this issue and still reap the benefits of a pre-mixed display, devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,405 and 6,059,145 have been created to provide a post-mix dispenser that presents a simulated pre-mix by way of presenting a permanent stable and sterile fluidized display.
In addition to flavored beverages, similar apparatuses exist to deliver frozen food products such as ice cream and yogurt to customers upon their demand. Typical dispensers for these types of products generally require the mixing of selected liquid ingredients with a particular volume of air followed by freezing the resulting mixture and subsequent dispensing of the final product. The final product feel and desirability is often directly related to the amount of air and manner in which it is introduced along with how the blended mixture is frozen to the desired temperature.
Typical semi-frozen dairy product dispensers deliver a liquid mix, containing such ingredients as cream, milk, condensed milk, syrup, etc. to a freezing chamber containing air or a non-toxic gas. In the freezing chamber the mixture is mixed with air by mechanical motion provided by blades or paddles while slowly being frozen to the desired temperature. The amount of aeration is extremely important and is defined for ice cream as overrun. The overrun is defined as the percentage of increase in the volume of ice cream greater than the amount of mix used to create that ice cream. Quality ice creams have lower overruns than those of reduced quality. Generally the more overrun, the lower the cost of the ice cream. Because of this, some states limit the amount of overrun acceptable in ice cream products. Slow freezing of the mixture can also lead to the formation of ice crystals and particles of various sizes that ultimately deplete the palatability of the resulting product.
It is common to utilize the freezing chamber to provide both a means for freezing and preparing the product along with acting as a reservoir to contain the product at the desired temperature until individual servings are dispensed. The product is often dispensed by way of pumping or extruding the product through a dispensing outlet connected to the freezing chamber into an appropriate container. Examples of such apparatuses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,954,126 and 4,201,558. One major disadvantage to these types of dispensers is their plethora of wetted surfaces and moving parts, requiring diligent cleaning and maintenance. Cleaning of these types of systems is costly in terms of downtime and product loss and this unpleasant job is often difficult to get an employee to do properly and consistently.
Most people are accustomed to self-serve ice cream or frozen yogurt dispensers that provide two flavors at once, ultimately producing a product with a “twist” of flavor combinations. These combinations are a result of dispensers that employ two separate freezing chambers to prepare and contain the two different flavors of product to be dispensed. While these products are visually appealing, they present two unique flavors to the tongue as the product is tasted because the mixture is not homogeneous or completely mixed.
The prior art describes a few attempts to provide methods and apparatuses that enable the production and dispensing of semi-frozen aerated products on a continuous basis. Although U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,594,442 and 5,292,030 disclose two different approaches to provide product on a continuous operation, they both suffer from difficulty in controlling the amount of overrun and formation of frozen particles of uniform size, ultimately presenting a less-than-desirable product consistency.